Personality Disorder

The National Institute on Mental Illness estimated in 2007 that 9.1% of the population had a personality disorder in the United States, and that number has likely grown. Personality disorders are characterized by mood swings, along with the way a person views themselves, others, and the world. Undiagnosed personality disorders can significantly affect the way a person lives day to day, and can cause much distress to a person as they experience challenges in their work, home, and social life. Research has shown that personality disorders are caused by a multitude of factors: genetics, childhood trauma, verbal abuse, high reactivity, and other environmental factors. Let’s explore each of these with research: Genetics -  A 2010 study published in Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience found that genes can influence the development of a personality disorder. In particular, if a person is more vulnerable to pathology or negative emotionality, high impulsivity and low agreeableness, and introversion, they are more likely to develop a personality disorder. The study further stated that genes that are linked to neurotransmitter pathways, specifically involving serotonin and dopamine, can increase the susceptibility that a person has in developing a disorder. Childhood trauma – According to the American Psychological Association, studies have shown that childhood trauma – and sometimes even the number and type of trauma experienced – in childhood can increase the risk factors of a person developing a personality disorder. A study conducted by researchers in China and Australia examined 1402 patients and found that childhood maltreatment had a strong association with most personality disorders. Verbal abuse – A study published in Comprehensive Psychiatry found that verbal abuse alone can increase the chances of a person developing a personality disorder. The study found that children who experienced verbal abuse were more than 3 times as likely than those who did not experience verbal abuse to have borderline, narcissistic, obsessive-compulsive, and paranoid personality disorders during their adolescence or childhood. High reactivity -  Childhood reactivity has been shown increasingly in patients who develop borderline personality disorder. Emotional hyper reactivity is when a person is extremely sensitive to both internal and external stimuli – their senses become easily aroused and they may seem to overly react to things. Other environmental factors can include connections with peers at a young age, as well as any substance abuse. If you have been diagnosed with a personality disorder and are ready to be on your way to recovery, make the decision to seek help today.

According to Psychology Today, our choice of careers reflects our personality – vocational theorist John Holland believes that our career reflects highs and lows of 6 different personality types: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. They state that if we are able to find a career that matches well with our personality, we have reached “congruence”. Several sources are questioning the personality traits of those in the entertainment industry. What is it about them that makes actors so successful? A study co-authored by actor Mark Davidson and led by psychologist Adrian Furnham from the University College of London found that “both male and female actors scored significantly higher than non-actors on antisocial, narcissism, histrionic, borderline and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders”. The research study involved 214 actors and compared their personality traits to non-actors. Traits such as being attention-seeking, unstable, self-loving and impulsive arose from the findings. Furthermore, male actors were found to have more dependent and avoidant personality traits as well. Does this mean actors have “bad” personalities? Not hardly. The study further noted that qualities found in actors benefit them for their career – for example, narcissistic traits give actors the confidence to get followers on social media and gain traction in the public eye. Obsessive-compulsive traits may help them reach deadlines and memorize scripts. Impulsivity means that a person may risk a lot for a role or opportunity, but they could also gain a lot because of those risks. It’s a common stereotype that narcissism is negative, but narcissism runs on a spectrum and it only because harmful if it’s involving apathy regarding other’s safety, health, happiness, etc. A healthy form of narcissism is what helps us succeed in job interviews, dress well for social occasions, etc. One shortcoming of the study could be due to the fact that the actors self-reported their emotions for analysis. Actors are in the realm of expression and interpretation, which could mean they may have connected deeper with what is considered more “negative” traits than “positive” ones. There are a number of reasons why actors may experience more traits related to personality disorders than others. What’s most important, however, is that no matter who you are, you seek help if it’s needed. There are many resources available to ensure you develop the tools you need to lead a happy life.

Having a personality disorder can be challenging, especially if you haven’t been diagnosed. Many symptoms of personality disorders affect every aspect of someone’s life, and eventually cause trouble in these areas, causing the person to seek a diagnosis. For example, someone with a personality disorder may experience paranoia, extreme emotional swings, unstable self-image, unstable relationships with others, impulsive or destructive behaviors, and more. Personality disorders cannot be cured, but they are treatable. The Personality Disorders Awareness Network (PDAN) outlines several effective treatments that have been used to help lessen the severity of symptoms found in a personality disorder:

Personality disorders are mental health conditions that can affect the way a person views themselves, the world, and interactions at play with others. Histrionic personality disorder (HPD) can be challenging because it is characterized by excessive attention-seeking, emotional overreaction, and suggestibility, according to Psychology Today. A person with this disorder may over-dramatize situations, placing relationships with others at peril and leading to the development of depression. People with this disorder feel uncomfortable when they are not in the spotlight – they may be very lively and dramatic when meeting new people, but may also embarrass close friends and family when they engage in excessive public displays of affection or sobbing uncontrollably over minor concerns in public. A study published in the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy found that women with HPD had significantly lower sexual assertiveness, self-esteem, sexual desire and marital satisfaction. Those women also experienced greater levels of sexual preoccupation, sexual boredom, and orgasmic dysfunction, and were more likely to enter an extramarital affair than women in the control group whom did not have HPD. When dating someone with HPD, it is important to recognize and become familiar with all the symptoms found in the disorder. For example, one common characteristic is believing that relationships are more intimate than they really are. The person may also easily pick up on the opinions of others, without having sufficient data or reasoning to back up their claims. A person with this disorder cares deeply about their appearance, and has rapidly shifting mood swings that may be “shallow” to others. The best way to understand your partner is to educate yourself on their disorder and maybe even attend couple’s therapy with them. In doing this, both of you can learn more about one another and how to overcome some of the obstacles you each may face in the relationship. Treatment for HPD typically involves psychotherapy, a form of “talk therapy” that allows a person to uncover new parts of themselves and learn more about how they think, act, and feel. A relationship with someone who has HPD is possible, but there may be specialized concerns to work through.

Personality disorders affect the way a person thinks, acts, perceives events, and interacts with others. NBC News states that 1 in 5 Americans has a personality disorder; this may include narcissistic, borderline, bipolar disorder, dependent or avoidant personality disorder, and more. One disorder that isn’t talked about as often is paranoia personality disorder (PPD) – if you’re experiencing these symptoms and they are significantly distressing you and causing you difficulty in your day to day life, you may want to seek the help of a health care professional. Known for being grounded in excessive distrust and paranoia, this disorder causes people to rarely confide in others and misinterpret harmless events as malicious. For example, a person with this disorder may interpret the actions of someone else as being threatening or demeaning, when there is really no reason to think this. Psychology Today notes that people with PPD do not lost their sense of touch with reality, but they often deny their own negative feelings towards others. A person with PPD’s worst fear is being exploited or betrayed, even if a person has proven time and time again that they are trustworthy. Self-sufficiency is often crucial for those with PPD, as they do not want to rely on someone else in fear they might betray them. The following are some examples of scenarios that may involve a person with PPD:

Whether you have been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) or you know of a loved one who has recently been diagnosed, understanding BPD and the symptoms associated with it can help you make more sense of yourself and others. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, BPD is characterized by difficulty regulating emotion. If a person with BPD experiences an emotionally triggering event, it is likely very difficult for them to immediately come back from this event. BPD can lead to individuals feeling impulsive, low regarding self-esteem, difficulty maintaining stable relationships, and feeling intense emotions to triggering situations. The following are common symptoms of BPD:

Break-ups and divorce can be challenging, especially if you or the other person are still at odds or have some emotional attachments left. While some people break ties, and go their separate ways, others are choosing to remain friends. The reasons for this could vary; some may hold a connection of friendship even if the romantic interest isn’t there – others may hold on because of comfortability, yet others may choose to remain friends for their own benefits. Recent studies are showing that your reasoning behind staying friends with an ex-partner could show signs of psychopathy, and here’s why: A new study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences states that staying friends after splitting isn’t a sign of maturity, but rather a sign of psychopathy. First, what is psychopathy? Psychology Today notes that being uncaring or un-empathetic, irresponsible, showing “superficial charm” or outright lying, possessing a “grandiose sense of self-worth”, narrowing of attention, selfishness, inability to plan, and violence are a few key characteristics of psychopathy. The study that was described by Independent, a UK-based news source, found that participants who remained friends with their exes displayed darker personality traits like psychopathy. Many exes are emotionally less supportive, less helpful, less trusting, and less concerned about the other person’s happiness, making their only motivation for selfishness. The results found that individuals may keep their ex around for sex, money, or information, and some individuals exerted “false charm” in order to keep the ex around to continue reaping benefits from them. The article from Independent notes that although many of us exhibit characteristics of selfishness, those with psychopathy are un-empathetic, which is a key difference that makes them lean more towards the mental illness. Does this mean that if you remain friends with your ex, you are a “psychopath”? Absolutely not. Everybody has their own reasons for remaining friends with someone from their past, and you very well may have the best intentions. After all, it’s the intentions that truly underline mental illness and if you can feel empathy for them and do not maintain the friendship for purely selfish reasons, you likely are not experiencing psychopathy. If you are, seeking treatment for this could be very beneficial because you can develop the tools you need to understand your motivations behind this.

According to the Schizophrenia and Related Disorders Alliance of America, approximately 3.5 million people in the United States are diagnosed with schizophrenia, and it is one of the leading causes of disability. Individuals with schizophrenia often experience delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, disorganized behavior, and negative symptoms such as feeling detached from oneself, general discontentment, anger, anxiety, and more. Most people recognize schizophrenia as a disorder that causes delusions and hallucinations, but there is much more that many don’t know.

A personality disorder is defined as a type of mental disorder in which a person has a rigid and unhealthy pattern of thinking, functioning, and behaving. Living with a personality disorder can affect every aspect of one’s life. Dating someone with a personality disorder can also be challenging. Bustle has noted the following characteristics of someone with dependent personality disorder (DPD): low self-esteem, often seems “clingy” or “passive”, unable to make decisions on one’s own, hates being alone, goes from one relationship to another, is unable to take initiative on projects, and is very agreeable with partner in fear of them leaving. Individuals with DPD may appear very fearful, anxious, or sad. If you are dating someone with this disorder, they may take a lot of energy from you, seek your approval constantly, rarely disagree with you and be very influential. People with DPD often to not rise to their full potential because they rely on someone else’s support. There are several things you should be careful not to do with your partner if they have DPD:

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is defined by the National Institute of Health (NIH) as a serious mental disorder marked by a pattern of ongoing instability in moods, behavior, self-image, and functioning. Due to this, unstable relationships and impulsive behavior often occur. A person with BPD may experience stress-related paranoid thoughts, dissociative symptoms, inappropriate and intense anger issues, chronic feelings of emptiness, and more. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) estimates that 1.6% of the U.S. population has BPD, but it may be as high as 5.9%. Nearly 75% of the people diagnosed with BPD are women, but men have been misdiagnosed in the past. According to Dr. Thomas Lynch, assistant professor of psychology at Duke University and the Duke University Medical Center, individuals with BPD “exhibit chronic, pervasive problems getting along with people in all kinds of different contexts…and this includes therapists.” The American Psychological Association (APA) noted that while individuals with BDP may be quick to open to a therapist, they may be even quicker to shut down. APA also claimed that while people with BPD often seek out treatment, many tend to leave therapy. It is suggested that individuals with BPD may be triggered easily in therapy, which can be difficult for them to regulate those emotions and work with their therapist. A call to action is provided to therapists, because understanding the client’s reality and their emotions may help to work with them in a more collaborative way. Dr. Lynch further describes this by stating, “They never gain a sense that their needs, wants and desires are reasonable.” David M. Allen, author of the book, How Dysfunctional Families Spur Mental Disorders: A Balanced Approach to Resolve Problems and Reconcile Relationships, told Psychology Today in 2015 that people with BPD often have families that counteract the work done by a therapist. He noted that while not true for all, many families often only elicit love and concern by misery, sickness, and debilitation. Family chaos for individuals with BPD include them being blamed for problems and treated as the “black sheep” of the family. Amanda Wang, leader and organizer of RethinkBPD, gave a compelling speech for NIH in 2011. She described living with BPD as this: Living did not come naturally to me. I had to learn things, things that seemed foreign to me, emotions that had actual names… It was only then that I was able to open myself up to a love that healed, a faith that restored, and a hope that I could share with others.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI), borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a condition characterized by difficulties in regulating emotion. This leads to severe and unstable mood swings, impulsivity and instability, poor self-image and rocky personal relationships. With borderline personality disorder, people make several attempts to avoid real or imagined events of abandonment. Self-harm and suicide are two destructive behaviors that could result from someone having BPD. People who have BPD typically experience periods of depressed mood, anxiety, or irritability that can last for days, disassociation, chronic boredom or emptiness, and more. These individuals may seem as manipulative or over-dramatic, but researchers have found that they behave this way to cope with the overwhelming fear and emotional pain. For people who suffer from BPD, they are even higher at risk for adding addiction/alcoholism to the mix. Almost 9 million people who have an addiction also suffer from a mental illness. There are several symptoms of BPD that overlap with addiction/alcoholism, making it hard to diagnose at times:

Many people prefer not to be alone at times, and will call on friends for support. Likewise, most people find being criticized or judged and ridiculed to be an unpleasant and uncomfortable experience they’d rather avoid. For people with dependent personality disorder, however, they grow extreme in their need to be around someone all the time, while someone with avoidant personality disorder will withdraw from society entirely as their fear of being seen as inadequate takes over. According to the American Psychiatric Association, a personality disorder is a way of thinking, feeling, and behaving that deviates from the expectations of the culture, causes distress or problems functioning, and lasts overtime. Two of these types of personality disorders are classified as dependent and avoidant. Each of these disorders has their own unique causes, characteristics, and treatment methods.